I can't help falling in love with you
by Hellen says what's up
Summary: Set in future:E/R, Eponine/Combeferre, Marius/Cosette. In a world where love is a disease. No one marries for love. The only purpose for marriage is reproduction. If you start to fall in love, your life might just fall apart. I know this is a bad summary. Just give it a chance. Reviews are loved! Please don't read if you have a problem with the ships.
1. Chapter 1

I can't help falling in love with you

**Summary here: Basically, love is a disease, which is why all marriages are arranged. Marius and Cosette are set up to get married by their guardians, but when they start to fall in love, they are forced to split up for good. Meanwhile, Eponine is in love with Marius, so her parents send her to a doctor who has to try and knock the love out of her. The doctor just so happens to be Combeferre who slowly starts to fall for his own patient. Meanwhile, Enjolras is convinced that love isn't real, and then he's proven wrong when he starts falling in love with Grantaire, who was one of very few who still believe love is a beautiful thing.**

**I had to write this I'm sorry. I just had to. It came to me in a dream and my mind and soul was literally going to explode**

**I also didn't proofread because my brain is hurting like hell right now, but like I said, I HAD to write this.**

Marius sat patiently in his seat at the coffee shop, wondering how much longer he'd have to wait here. He looked down at the photograph that sat in his hands. She was beautiful. She had sparkling blue eyes and hair was like the rays of the sun. She had a pretty little smile and perfect white teeth. _An arranged marriage. _It was perfectly normal. This is how marriage works. Your guardian(s) find a suitable husband/wife, and then they must get married... unless of cause they're in love. In which case, they must be separated as soon as possible before the love destroys them. It's the law.

Marius was wearing a neat blue sweater and cream-coloured trousers. He felt like, if this woman was the person he was destined to spend the rest of his life with, he should at least make an effort to make a good first impression. Marius was starting to become a little anxious. What if she didn't like him? I mean, not that it mattered much…but he didn't want to spend the rest of his life with a woman who didn't like him.

Then, he saw her. Cosette. She was even more beautiful in person. Her eyes sparkled an even brighter blue and her hair looked so smooth and perfect. She looked around the coffee shop. She too had a picture in her dainty little hands. It was obviously a picture of Marius. She continued to look around the room, when she spotted Marius. She smiled and gave a little wave. Marius smiled back and got up to walk over to her.

Marius stood in front of her. Cosette was rather small and he felt like if he wasn't careful he might just break her. "Hi there," she said with a high-pitched voice, "you must be Marius Pontmercy. My father has told me a lot about you."

Marius awkwardly grinned at her. "Yeah, you're Cosette right?"

Cosette raised one of her eyebrows. "No, I'm a spy." Marius' expression went completely blank and Cosette let out a cute giggle. "I'm kidding. Lighten up." Marius went slightly red and scratched the back of his neck. "Well…you want some coffee?"

"Yeah, coffee's good."

…

Eponine sat on the edge of her bed, her eyes fallen shut. She was daydreaming again. It was something she liked to do quite a lot. Within her dreams, she could do whatever she wanted…whenever she liked. Inside her own world, she could live in a dream where Marius actually loved her like she loved him…being in love is a curse…every time Eponine thought of Marius, her heart broke just that little bit more. Eponine was starting to get a little drowsy and was beginning to fall asleep, when her bedroom door opened. Thenardier stood by the opening along with a young man in a lab coat holding a roughed-up clipboard. "This is 'er." Thenardier said, only partially sober (as usual). "Take care of 'er will ya'?"

The man in the lab coat snorted and closed the door, leaving Eponine alone with him. The young man only looked maybe one or two years older than Eponine herself. He wore a pair of glasses that made him look more formal and sophisticated. His hair was a messy kind of honey colour. The man dragged a chair over that sat by the side of the room and sat facing Eponine. He gave a surprisingly friendly smile. "_Bonjour Madame._ Eponine if I'm not mistaken?"

Eponine blinked her eyes. "Why are you here? Is it because they told you I was in love with Marius? Because I'm not. They're making stuff up and-and, none of it's true. I swear I-I-"

"Relax, I'm not here to, ah what's the word, interrogate you." The man shrugged. "My name's Combeferre. I'm a doctor. And yes, I've been told that you may be suffering from love, but I know it's not your fault. No one means to fall in love darling."

Eponine sniffed and cleared her throat. Ever since about two years ago…she'd absolutely fallen head-over heals for Pontmercy…he was her life…but of course love is a disease…it never prevails. "So…why are you here?"

Combeferre hummed. "I'm here to help you get rid of the love…tell me, Eponine, when you think of this Marius guy, does your heart beat faster? Do you get a warm feeling in the pit of your stomach? Do you get a rush of pure adrenaline?" Eponine sat there, uncomfortable as hell. "Because if so, then you are in love. Now, my job is to knock that feeling out of you. It shouldn't be too hard. I've done it before."

Eponine shook her head. "…Combeferre…if I stop loving Marius…will the pain in my heart go away?"

Combeferre sighed. "Well, that depends. For some people, the pain of love never goes away…you'll just have to try."

…

Enjolras was curious about a lot of things. For one thing, he was curious about love. Ever since he'd turned twenty-one, he'd been wondering why love is even exists. It's just an emotion isn't it? Enjolras stood in the hall of his local library. He had picked up a book that talks about the evolution of 'love'. The book talks about how people used to get married because they were in love. These days, the only reason you'd ever get married is to continue your family's name. Enjolras had personally decided that he wasn't going to ever get married. Not because he didn't want to continue his family name, but because the thought of 'marriage' sickened him.

Enjolras placed the book back onto the shelf and started walking down a road of thought. Some people that have been cursed with love have killed themselves because they can't be with the one they love. If love is so strong that it can cause people to kill themselves, it must be like some sort of power created by the gods…

Enjolras' line of thought was broken when someone tapped him on the shoulder. Enjolras jumped in surprise and turned around to see a tall, dark haired man with ivy green eyes. The man chuckled. "Sorry, didn't mean to startle you."

Enjolras sighed and picked up the book that he'd just dropped on the floor. "Well you did." The man smirked. "Did you need something?"

"Eh, not really…"

"So you just came here to annoy me?" Enjolras asked.

"It's kind of what I do." The man said with a grin. "Well actually I saw you make a speech down town yesterday and I thought it was pretty inspiring. Kudos to you."

Enjolras shrugged. "Thanks."

The man shoved his hands in his pockets. "Although, there's just _one _thing I didn't completely agree on."

Enjolras' eyebrow quirked up. "And what might that be?"

"Well… you stated, and I quote, that 'love is non-existent and should not be handled like its some dangerous disease'. Now, I agree with the second part, but I don't believe that love is non-existent. I don't fully understand your theory on that."

Enjolras crossed his arms. "Well it's true. Love isn't exactly a real thing because it isn't an object neither an emotion."

"Actually it is an emotion," the man said, "because love is something you feel."

"Yeah, but when youfeel ill you _**feel**_ill, but does that make illness an emotion?"

"Well illness is different. I just generally don't agree on the term that love is non-existent because obviously it does if it can be felt. Like illness can be felt so it means it exists. Your mind is smart but _you _are wrong." The man smiled when Enjolras started mumbling to himself.

"The only way you can convince me that love is an emotion is if I end up feeling love for myself."

The man shrugged. "Interesting…I'm Grantaire by the way."

"Enjolras."

"Enjolras…You want to get coffee with me sometime?" Grantaire asked.

Enjolras shrugged. "Sure."


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry about the long wait.**

**My apologies to Lauren Oliver! Apparently this is kind of like a series that already exists (one that I didn't know of). I did not know sooooooo, my bad. Thank you to ConcreteAngelRoxHerHalo who told me. The book is called 'Delirium' by Lauren Oliver. Turns out she beat me to the whole 'love is a disease' plot. *sigh*. Sorry for that. But I did not intentionally steal the idea, it was an accident, and I did actually see it in a dream. Just saying, I never actually read Delirium, so it might be a little different to the book. **

**Also, English is not my first language, so my apologies if there are any mistakes.**

Eponine stared down at the blank test paper that sat in front of her. She sat at her old and chipped study desk. Over the years the desk had been battered and torn down into just a chipped lump of wood with legs. You could get a splinter just by looking at the damn thing. The test papers were lined up in a row on the top of the desk. Eponine grabbed an inky blue fountain pen that sat on the desk top. She was filling out her name on the empty space above whilst Combeferre just stood there, tapping his fingers on the edge of the desk; like this was something he did everyday…which it probably was given his occupation. "Is all of this really necessary? You already know what my…condition is; can't you just cure me now?" Eponine asked, rather impatiently.

"I can't do anything yet. I need to see how serious, or 'how far along the line' your disease is, and to do that you must answer these questions for me. It's just a simple test to determine how bad your love for Mr Pontmercy is…I hope that's not too much to ask. It can be a little…awkward. Believe me, I know." Combeferre leaned against the wall, next to Eponine's desk.

Eponine looked up at the doctor. He had rather a formal and sophisticated kind of look, especially with those wired glasses. It made him look slightly older than he really was…less of a child and more of a gentleman…but looking a little closer gave Eponine the chance to take a better look. If he took the glasses off, he might find that he actually had quite a charming and handsome appearance, at least, in Eponine's opinion. "You couldn't possibly know." Eponine said, with somewhat a bitter expression. Combeferre turned to her, curiously. "To truly understand what I've been going through…you'd need to understand what love truly feels like. It hurts…like someone's stuck a knife into your heart and it won't come out. It hurts, because we live in a world where I can't ever be with the one I love…why is that?"

Combeferre was choked for an answer…which was a first. "Because…because life's not fair."

"That's hardly a reasonable answer." Eponine said rolling her eyes and turning back to her papers. Being in love was something that very few people knew. Eponine hated every minute of her life because of it.

"You just don't give up do you?" Combeferre said with a chuckle. He found Eponine rather amusing. The way she talked to him. The way she looked at him. She was rather different. You'd probably never meet another girl quite like Eponine Thenardier.

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" she asked, filling out the first few questions.

Combeferre shrugged. "It's a good thing." He gave her a lazy smile, but then walked over to the other side of the room to retrieve another set of papers.

…

Cosette and Marius sat by the beachside on an old bench by the edge of the sand. The sun was slowly falling behind the sea and sky. As the sun began to go to bed, Marius couldn't help but wonder how he managed to end up with the perfect wife. He liked Cosette…a lot. And he prayed that she felt the same about him. He wanted them to be friends, like brother and sister. He watched as she dug her bare feet into the warm sand beneath and smiled as a cool breeze washed over her, blowing her light hair behind her shoulder. "I can't believe you've never been to the beach." Cosette said, breaking the fragile silence. "Didn't you ever go as a kid?"

Marius shrugged and scratched his arm. "Well, no. No one really had the time to take me."

Cosette frowned. "Well, when we're married we can go wherever you want…as long as it's not too cold. I can't stand cold weather."

Marius snorted. "Ok, no cold places." Cosette lied back onto the bench and tilted her head back and closed her pretty blue eyes. The sounds of the waves were so relaxing. Both of them could have just fallen asleep then and there. "Cosette?"

"Mmm?" Cosette hummed, not opening her eyes.

"…Do you like me?" Marius asked.

Cosette blinked her eyes open. At first, Marius felt as though she might say no, but then she smiled her cute little smile and said, "Of course. I know we've only known each other for a day and all, but I can tell we're going to be great friends. We like the same things, we do the same stuff…it'll be great."

Marius let out a sigh of relief. Perhaps he could start building a new life with Cosette. But would it be that simple? "This has been fun." Marius said, trying to not sound too awkward. Cosette smiled up at him with a smile so loving and caring. Cosette liked Marius because he just seemed like such a softie. He was just so adorable!

"Hey, if I had to spend the rest of my life with someone, I'm glad it has to be with you. You're like my dream husband." Cosette chimed. Marius liked the sound of her voice. It tickled his ears and made him feel happy.

…

Enjolras and Grantaire still sat in the coffee shop outside the library. Time had seemed to sneak right past them. They'd been sitting in the shop for about five hours now. It was starting to get dark. Luckily this place was a twenty-four hour coffee house. Neither of them had really touched their cups of coffee. They just sat there, talking about stuff. Normally there wouldn't be this much 'stuff' to talk about. Normally, there'd be at least one awkward silence…but Enjolras and Grantaire always seemed to have SOMETHING to talk about, whether they were debating or agreeing on the subject (mostly debating). They both had different views on the world. Enjolras' father was a scientist who studied the effects of love, whilst Grantaire's father was a drunken junkie who he refused to speak with.

Grantaire had learnt to find his way of life by himself (with the help of his roommates and pals), and he'd discovered that although love is seen as a deadly curse by all, to him it's a gift, and he personally hoped to find love one day…someone who'd actually give a damn about him. Someone who'd be able to give love and receive it without being paranoid about dying of something that's not even real. "You know," Grantaire began, as he stirred his lukewarm coffee with a metal teaspoon, "when swans fall in love, they fall in love for life. When their lover dies, they can never find another partner because they will never forget their loved one, so they die of a broken heart."

Enjolras snorted. "You actually believe that?" Grantaire nodded. "Dude, I'm pretty sure that was just made up for the sake of scaring people into believing that love is a disease that can kill."

"I know that it's true." Grantaire frowned. "It works with humans too though, which is why people see love as a disease. My father and mother were in love…and I mean truly love, not just lust. When my mum died my dad was incapable of being with another woman because it pained him too much to move on. Now…now he's a worthless piece of shit."

Enjolras frowned. "I pity you. It must have been hard to grow up without a mother." Enjolras glanced at the time on the clock that hung on the wall above the coffee counter. "I have to go. My dad's probably wondering where I am."

"Can we do this again sometime?" Grantaire asked.

Enjolras bit his lip and sighed. "I…I don't think that's a good idea."

Instead of becoming offended, Grantaire became curious. "Why's that?"

"Well, I don't want to risk becoming attached to you or…anyone really. It could end badly. I don't want to…you know…"

"Fall for me?" Grantaire smirked.

Enjolras blushed but quickly dismissed it. "No. Besides, I know you're only doing this to try and prove a point." Enjolras said quirking up an eyebrow.

Grantaire grinned. "…I don't think that's a good enough reason. And just for the record, I don't want to fall in love with you. I just want to know you. Maybe we could be friends. Is that too much to ask?" Enjolras shrugged. He did kind of like Grantaire in a weird and annoying way, but he was afraid of falling in love with the man. "How about this?_ I'll_ give _you_ my number, and you can decide whether you want to call me. If you do, then just give me a ring…if you don't, then you can leave me be and I'll get the message." Grantaire pulled a tiny scrunched up piece of paper from his trousers and handed it to Enjolras. He took it from him and sighed. "I'll see you later then?"

"I'll think about it.

"And I'll think about **you.**"

…

Eponine gave a slight yawn as she placed the pen down onto the desk. She stretched her arms into the air and sighed. Combeferre smirked a little, tilting his head to the side. Eponine raised an eyebrow at the man. "What?"

"Nothing." He said simply. Suddenly, his phone buzzed in his baggy lab coat pocket. He gave her a nod. "Excuse me for a moment…" Combeferre took the phone and slowly made his way out of the room. He stood in the empty hallway of the Thenardier house and pressed the button. "Hello?"

A shrieking voice ran down the line, _"Combeferre! It's Joly. You'll never guess what! We've hit a breakthrough!"_

Combeferre blinked his eyes disbelievingly, as though time had stopped. "Are you serious?"

"_Yeah, the Professor found the cure a couple of hours ago! It's a miracle!"_

"W-well, when are they releasing it to the public?" Combeferre asked, pacing up and down the hall. If what he said was true, this could change the world forever.

"_We're not sure, but the cure can only be provided for people over the age of twenty-one. It doesn't work for anyone under the age, but anyone over twenty-one is going to have to take it…that's what the professor said." _Combeferre nodded. _"Cheers to good health 'Ferre!" _the line went dead. How is it possible? Cures don't usually just pop out of the blue do they? What about Eponine? She would have to wait until her twenty-first…Combeferre wondered…where there any side effects to this cure? Never being able to feel love…is that meant to be a good thing?


End file.
